The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on August 31 informed the Supreme Court that it has directed Karnataka to ensure the realisation of flows in Biligundulu at the rate of 5,000 cusecs, starting from August 29, for the next 15 days.
The CWMA submitted that Karnataka had released a total of 1,49,898 cusecs of water at Biligundulu from August 12 to 26.
The report said the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee had met on August 28 and the CWMA had convened the very next day on August 29.
Also read: Ground Zero: Cauvery, a river in distress
The meeting had followed up on an August 11 direction from the CWMA to Karnataka to ensure Cauvery water releases from the Krishna Raja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs put together, so that the flows were realised at Biligundulu at the rate of 10,000 cusecs, starting from August 12 for 15 days.
On August 25, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai had directed the CWMA to submit a report about the discharge of the river water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu, especially its availability for the next fortnight.
The direction came after Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee and the CWMA would be meeting back-to-back to discuss the release of Cauvery water for the next fortnight.
Karnataka’s dissatisfaction
The court had recorded Karnataka’s dissatisfaction with the CWMA order on August 11 to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu, represented by senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, C.S. Vaidyanathan and advocate G. Umapathy, had voiced its discontent about the CWMA order. It has sought an enhancement in the quantity of water to be released. Mr. Rohatgi had submitted that Karnataka had failed in its obligation to supply the allotted water to Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka, represented by senior advocate Shyam Divan, had countered that water had already been discharged.
Tamil Nadu had moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Karnataka to forthwith release 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water from its reservoirs at Biligundulu for the remaining period of August, starting from August 14. The State said the release of water was a dire necessity to meet the pressing demands of the standing crops.
Tamil Nadu had also urged the apex court to direct Karnataka to ensure the stipulated releases for the month of September, 2023 (36.76 tmc ft) as per the Cauvery Tribunal award modified by the Supreme Court in 2018.
The State said Karnataka should make good the shortfall of 28.849 tmc ft water during the current irrigation year for the period between June 1 and July 31.
It had asked the court to direct the Cauvery Water Management Authority to ensure that the directions issued to Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu were “fully implemented and the stipulated monthly releases during the remaining period of the current water year are fully given effect to by the State of Karnataka”.
Tamil Nadu said Karnataka had to ensure to make good the deficit in water supply from Biligundulu as on August 9, which was 37.971 tmc ft in addition to the demand of around 24,000 cusecs, in the month of August.
A direction was given to Karnataka on August 10 to release from its reservoirs 15,000 cusecs at Biligundulu on August 11 for 15 days.
“Unfortunately, even this quantum of water was arbitrarily reduced to 10,000 cusecs by the CWMA in its 22nd meeting held on August 11 at the instance of Karnataka. Regretfully, even this amount of 10,000 cusecs to be ensured at Biligundulu by releasing such quantum of water from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs has not been complied with by Karnataka,” the Tamil Nadu application had argued.
